20.08.09
Martin Barnes - The Senior Curator of Photographs at the Victoria & Albert Museum
The right advice and inside track on photographic exhibitions
How did you start off in the photographic industry?
I began work as a trainee curator at the V&A in 1995 and was placed in the Prints, Drawings, Paintings and Photographs Department. I had made my own photographs at Art College but had gone on to study art history and museum studies. So combining all of these interests by looking after the Museum's photographs collection melded many of my interests.
How did your career progress?
I progressed from trainee 'Curatorial Assistant' to 'Assistant Curator' in 1999, to 'Curator' in 2001 and Senior Curator in 2007. This progression came about by working with and learning from other curators at the V&A, and their in depth knowledge, particularly Charlotte Cotton and Mark Haworth-Booth. Working on various books, gallery displays and touring exhibitions all helped to build up my expertise and experience. Meeting with photographers and discussing their work also sharpened my eye and ideas about the medium.
What attracted you to the role of Curator of Photographs at the V&A?
Being able to work with a magnificent permanent collection that is freely accessible to the public. Having the archival resources to back up research and being able to draw on the support and mutual interest of colleagues is very inspiring too.
What does your job entail?
The job varies on a daily basis - but essentially it is about looking after the Museum's national collection of the art of photography that ranges from 1839 to the present and making it accessible on a physical and intellectual level. This involves collecting, storage, cataloguing, writing, exhibitions, research, lecturing and acting as an advocate for photography as an expressive and artistic medium.
How can photographers get involved with the V&A?
Anyone can visit the permanent collection galleries - but perhaps one of the best sources of inspiration is being able to view original prints in the Prints & Drawings Study Room.
You don't need to make an appointment, have a readers' ticket or a letter of introduction: just turn up and ask to see any of the photographs in the collection in a beautiful room purpose-built solely for looking at prints, sitting down in comfort. We also have a range of talks and learning events.
How should photographers approach you? And what aren't you interested in seeing?
One of the best ways to see one of the curators, and other professionals in the field, is at one of the portfoloio review events such as Rhubarb-Rhubarb in Birmingham or Fotofest in Houston.
Otherwise, photographers can submit books or a small portfolio of works by post or by dropping them off, or send links to their web pages for us to view.
We can't always guarantee time to make comments and give feedback for unsolicited submissions, but we are happy to view new works and know of emerging talents or to give advice about work 'in progress' - other demands permitting.
It helps if the photographer has visited the gallery here and done their research to know the kind of works we collect and show, and that they are aware of others working in their field of interest: in other words, I am not interested in seeing things that have already been done by someone else or things that seek to validate themselves by emulating the greats of the past, or that are unconsciously similar to work by current practitioners, that we already hold in the collection.
In your opinion, what makes a great photography exhibition?
The best exhibitions are an almost physical experience, as well as being intellectually and emotionally satisfying.
Exhibitions should not look like a book on the wall. It does not hurt to have an element of design or theatricality, entertainment underpinning the serious scholarly content.
I prefer exhibitions that are not overcrowded, that give the works space to exist and for you to slow down and look properly. But I also like archival information - letters, notebooks - seeing the working out.
I like shows that are beautifully presented and lit well.
Whose images really inspire you?
All kinds of daguerreotypes, Fox Talbot, Gustave Le Gray, Roger Fenton, Moholy Nagy, Frederick Evans, Walker Evans, Josef Sudek, Jem Southam, Adam Fuss, Richard Learoyd, to name just a few historic and contemporary figures.
Give us some examples of some of your favourite photography exhibitions held at the V&A?
I enjoyed working on Diane Arbus 'Revelations and Twilight: Photography in the Magic Hour'.
Others from the past include the Bill Brandt centenary show, Guy Bourdin and American Photography from the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
If you could choose any photographer to work with who would it be?
Roger Fenton: he travelled widely, was well connected with all of his peers, and was a real pioneer of the medium in all its forms.
What kind of photography are you particularly interested in?
Right now I'm interested in camera-less photography, which seems to get at the essence of the medium: light and shadow, but also to reveal or hint at unseen forces. It relates to an exhibition called 'Shadow Catchers' that I'm working on which opens at the V&A in October 2010.
I'm also interested in rather quiet images of humble but enlightening things made in natural light by photographers such as Nigel Shafran, Gerhard Stromberg or Mark Edwards.
What was the experience of judging the Jerwood Photography awards in 2008 like, and writing the text for this year's book New Light that gathered together all of the award winners to date?
It was inspiring and heartening to see the rich variety of work emerging from UK degree courses. It bodes well for the future of photography as a creative medium of expression in this country and for the understanding of photography as a unique visual language.
Finally, do you have any tips for photographers?
I think it is important to do the research, to self-edit well, to be open to critique, but not to get hung up on technique, critical theory, process or the desire for instant success. One can sense real and unique personality and sincere expression in someone's work; and it comes from exploring the deep personal motivations for making photographs, spending time and not shying away from the big issues. The best work celebrates what it means to have your eyes and heart open and to be really alive.
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